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All in the Family
A graphic designer turns his mother’s house into an airy, minimalist refuge By Veronica Maddocks
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May Wu was the first in the family to own the little house. For 10 years, the widow and her daughter lived in its warren of cramped rooms overlooking the Gothic turrets of Casa Loma’s stables. Then, doing what mothers inevitably do, she moved to a condo. Her son, David Liang, a graphic artist and designer, decided to buy it. He loved the escarpment location, with its framed view of Sir Henry Pellatt’s fantastical folly, but he’s a minimalist at heart, horrified at the notion of wainscotting and textured wallcoverings. “I couldn’t stay in those rooms,” he says. “I wanted lots of light, clean lines and open space, a Zen feel to everything.” A friend introduced Liang to architect Heather Dubbeldam, whose portfolio seduced him on sight. Dubbeldam eliminated most of the walls, expanded the windows and opened up an attic that was, she recalls, “populated by dead animals and dust.” A substantial mezzanine now holds a studio, where Liang works, and a separate den. The ceiling of the 1,650-square-foot space follows the peaked gables of the roofline, and L-shaped elements—the fireplace and kitchen counters—add definition without crowding. “We needed to display David’s Asian art and other pieces that he loves,” says Dubbeldam, “as well as accommodate his wonderful modern classic furniture.” Accommodation is an understatement: the dining area not only fits Le Corbusier’s substantial 1928 steel and glass LC6 table; it also parades its perfect beauty.
Photography by Tom Arban
TEST Originally published July 2008
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P88 July 27, 20081
How the heck is that staircase to code?
And how it that railing upstairs to code?
Or did the owner throw plexiglass along both the get past the inspectors and then took it off, creating a delightful hazard for anybody going up the stairs?
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